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Riley Ruby
| cityofbirth = Warner Bay | countryofbirth = St. Gregory | dateofdeath = | cityofdeath = | countryofdeath = | height = | position = Forward | currentclub = Rivergate | clubnumber = 8 | youthyears = 2007-2013 | youthclubs = SGFASOE | years = 2013-2016 2016- | clubs = Barbarians Rivergate | caps(goals) = | nationalyears = 2012-2015 2016- | nationalteam = St. Gregory (U20) St. Gregory | nationalcaps(goals) = | manageryears = | managerclubs = }}Katsuo Riley Ruby (born February 5, 1995) is a Gregorian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Rivergate in League A. Ruby is a graduate of the SGFA School of Excellence, where he first came to national prominence, going on to represent his country at under-20 level. He played three years with Barbarians in League C, becoming that division's youngest-ever goalscoring champion in 2015-16 at just 21 years of age. He won a share of the League A Golden Boot in 2017-18, scoring 17 goals in the campaign, and is regarded as one of St. Gregory's most promising young strikers. Early life and career Ruby was born in Warner Bay to an American father and a Japanese mother. He played both football and baseball as a child, showing promise as a first baseman, but focused on football after being approached by scouts from the SGFASOE at age 12. Ruby attended the SGFASOE from 2007 until 2013, in the process earning the attention of national under-20 team coaches and receiving offers from several Gregorian professional clubs to leave the SGFASOE and transfer to their academies. Ruby rejected all these offers, preferring to stay close to his mother in Warner Bay. Club career Barbarians Ruby turned 18 during the 2012-13 season and signed his first professional contract with Barbarians FC 05, pledging to join the club for the 2013-14 League C season. Ruby chose the shirt number 88, due to the number 8 being considered lucky in Japanese culture (the shirt number 8 at Barbarians was taken by Florian Lando at the time). On July 1, 2016, Ruby's contract with Barbarians expired and he became a free agent. Several League A clubs were immediately rumored to be connected to the player, with Ruby himself saying: "I think I'm going to decide this month. Wherever I go, I want to give myself time to settle in and be part of a team." Rivergate On July 19, The Gatekeeper, the daily newspaper in the city of Rivergate, reported that Ruby was close to agreeing to terms with local club Rivergate F.C., and the club's official Twitter account posted a picture the following morning of a jersey being printed with a number 8 with the caption: "A new shirt for our new arrival." Later that afternoon, Ruby was confirmed as having signed a five-year contract with Rivergate. 2016-17 season Ruby made his Rivergate debut on October 22, 2016, when he came on as a substitute late in a 2-1 home win over Little Rouge. He also appeared as a substitute in the following two games – at Independence and Midland International – but failed to register a shot in either game. With just a three-day turnaround between the Midland game and the team's next fixture – at home to Bonneville Juniors on November 5 – Rivergate manager Gustavo Rizzi placed Ruby in the starting lineup for the Juniors game. The move paid immediate dividends as Ruby scored his first League A goal in the 27th minute, then added a second shortly after half-time to help River to a 4-3 victory. On November 25, during a nationally-televised Friday night game against Forest United, River's starting striker, Reinhard Bürger, suffered a thigh injury that forced him to leave the game in the second half. Ruby entered the game and converted the winning penalty in second half stoppage time for a 2-1 victory. On December 10, he provided another winner, this time from open play, in an SGFA Cup third round victory over Winston Beach. He was on target from the spot again on December 17 in a 2-2 draw with Bonneville United despite missing another penalty early in the game, but did not score again until January 7, 2017, when he opened the scoring against FC Chapman (although Chapman would go on to win the game, 3-1). After starting and scoring in a 3-0 win over Manorham on January 11, and with Bürger still out of the lineup, Ruby was inserted back in the starting lineup for a home game against New Castle three days later. In that game, Ruby himself would suffer an injury – straining his quadriceps – and would miss two months as David Fenton was elevated to the striker's role in both Ruby's and Bürger's absences. Ruby returned to the pitch on March 11 at home against Zane Hills, being named as a starter and punctuating his return with a goal inside 15 minutes as River romped to a 4-1 win. The following week, he scored twice to help River defeat Independence 2-1 in the SGFA Cup quarter-finals. Bürger – who just two weeks prior had been the subject of a publicized move to FC Chapman in the summer – returned to action on April 1 against Forest United, the team he had been injured against earlier in the year, replacing Ruby late in the second half. For the rest of the season, the team rotated Ruby and Bürger in the starting role. In the 2017 SGFA Cup Final against Bonneville United on May 28, Ruby came on as a substitute in the second half, replacing Josh Hurren with Rivergate down 2-0 at the time. Ruby scored in the 78th minute – his fourth goal of the tournament, tied for the most – to cut the deficit in half. Bürger's equalizer with four minutes remaining sent the match to extra time, and then to a penalty shoot-out where Ruby scored again to help River win the shoot-out 4-2 and lift the Cup. 2017-18 season Ruby began the 2017-18 year with two assists in the SGFA Shield, helping Rivergate to a 2-1 victory over Independence. His first goal of the league campaign did not come until matchday 6, however, when he scored in a 2-0 win over RivalSport on November 4. He scored in the next two games, in wins over Manorham and New Castle, before River were shut out 3-0 at Independence on December 2, breaking Ruby's streak. On February 3, 2018, Ruby recorded a brace in a 4-3 win over Chapman, and then netted his first League A hat-trick with goals in the 25th, 49th and 75th minutes of a 5-0 win over Helena Point Rangers on February 24. Ruby was awarded League A Player of the Month for February for his efforts in these two games. International career On October 10, 2017, Ruby assisted on Zane Brackney's match-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Costa Rica that secured St. Gregory's first-ever qualification for the FIFA World Cup. On June 3, 2018, Ruby was named to St. Gregory's 23-man roster for the World Cup. Style of play An energetic and athletic goalscorer, Ruby possesses excellent quickness and agility due to his small stature (5'8½"), allowing him to make line-breaking runs and to threaten anywhere in the area, particularly on set pieces. He is capable of acrobatic shots, scoring with a bicycle kick on more than one occasion, and has good aerial abilities for a smaller player. Personal life Ruby is an only child. His birth name, Katsuo, is a Japanese word meaning "victorious child." He was nicknamed "Kat" in elementary school, and after entering high school, preferred to go by his middle name. Ruby considers himself Japanese Gregorian; he speaks Japanese fluently, having been taught by his mother, and adheres to several Shinto customs. Despite this, he describes himself as having no religious affiliation. Category:Player pages Category:Rivergate F.C. players Category:Barbarians FC 05 players Category:SGFA School of Excellence alumni Category:St. Gregory national team players Category:St. Gregory national youth team players Category:People from Warner Bay